An exemplary but non-limiting application of the teachings presented herein is in signal sampling for A/D conversion. A typical analog-to digital converter samples an analog input signal in order to convert it into a corresponding digital signal. During this process, the converter loads the input signal and modifies it depending upon the impedance of the signal source. Such a modification directly influences the accuracy of the conversion process and the final result. For slower-speed and lower-resolution converters, errors caused by the input signal modification are insignificant and may be safely ignored.
On the other hand, recent developments in sensor technology, improvements in converter resolution and converter speed have made such errors quadratic factors limiting further increase in conversion accuracy. Moreover, the tendency to reduce power consumption and the expansion of portable applications has spread the use of a variety of sensors with relatively high source impedances. Examples of such sensors are high-value resistive bridges used to monitor weight and pressure.
At the same time, the development of the over-sampling converter technology has pushed the resolution of the analog-to-digital conversion to a 24-bit level and higher. Typical over-sampling converters use switched-capacitor front end circuits including one or more sampling capacitors to sample an analog input signal multiple times for each conversion cycle. During each sampling process, a certain amount of charge is transferred between the signal source and the converter front end capacitors resulting into an equivalent input current flow. As this input current passes through the signal source impedance, it causes a voltage change, modifying the original input value and creating a sampling error.
The value of the input current is directly proportional to the size of the sampling capacitors and to the sampling rate. Due to thermal noise limitations, an increase in the conversion resolution requires a quadratic increase in the size of the sampling capacitors resulting in the corresponding quadratic increase in the input current. At the same time, any increase in the overall conversion rate causes a proportional increase in the input signal sampling rate, resulting in the increased input current.
Two different strategies are typically used to deal with this problem. The first approach is to guarantee the complete settling (within the accuracy of the converter) of the front end sampling circuit including the input signal source impedance. This is a very difficult goal to achieve and it rapidly becomes impractical as the desired conversion accuracy and speed increase. The source impedance of a sensor imposes a theoretical limit on available ranges of conversion speed and resolution. Unavoidable parasitic capacitors and necessary signal filter capacitors involved in practical configurations further limit these ranges. An example of this approach is the LTC®2410 analog-to-digital converter developed by Linear Technology Corporation, assignee of the present subject matter.
The second approach uses isolation buffers and amplifiers interposed between the sensor and the converter. Such buffers can be external to the converter or may be integrated within the converter front end sampling circuits. Configurations using external buffers offer great flexibility but place an unacceptable heavy burden upon the user in order to maintain the global accuracy of the measurement chain. These configurations also demand supplemental power supply rails, critical power supply sequencing circuits and an additional physical space. Integrating the buffers within the converter front end sampling circuits partially resolves these issues. Nevertheless, the integrated buffers limit the analog-to-digital converter overall accuracy and dynamic range. An example of this approach is the LTC®2442 analog-to-digital converter developed by Linear Technology Corporation, assignee of the present subject matter.
Therefore, there is a need for a new sampling technique to reduce average input current taken from an input signal source.